Be Brave

 I really love the movie Brave.  I love the red-headed girl, Merida, and all the crazy hijinks she gets up to.  I love that she is young, vibrant, foolish, loving, and ...relatable.  After all, who hasn't sometimes wanted to wish someone into a corn patch somewhere?  Or ...wished your family would turn into bears?

While her wishes come true in a crazy sort of way, it had more to do with her fearlessness than her actual smarts.  And sometimes, I think being fearless is pretty amazing.  While Merida doesn't always go about it in the most sensible of ways, being brave is something I think we could all stand to embrace more of.

A lot of my life has been defined by my fears, and in many ways, it still is.  But each day, I struggle to try and do something just a little brave--a little fearless.  It isn't easy, and often I need time to recover and consider where I could have done better.  But being brave allows me to go a little further the next time until those fears creep back in and send me packing.  And that's okay.

Part of life is learning to combat the fears that haunt us, and not everyone will handle that struggle the same way.  Still, it's important that we try; it's important to be brave.

When you see something wrong, even if it's not happening to you, say something or do something to help the situation and make things better.  If you have the urge to talk to someone, go and do it!  Be the kind of change you want to see in others.  But most importantly, be brave by moving past your fear.  Even if it's one step, that's something to be proud of.

So put on your red hair, grab your bow, and let's do something that scares the hell out of us.

Let's be brave!